One Hundred and One Lifetimes
by Fresh C
Summary: Naruto had an idea. Usually such a thing was met with hesitance and fear, but it was clearly the best option. Akatsuki would eventually find him. With his current level of power even their weakest member would certainly kill him. And so he devised a plan
1. Confession

One Hundred and One Lifetimes

By Fresh C

**Prologue: Confession**

The various machines surrounding Naruto's bed made him feel caged in and crowded. His arm was itchy from the IV and he was always one to scratch. Even though the hospital was uncomfortable, he'd grown accustomed to long rest in bed. It didn't take a medical genius to tell that he was dying and yet he had three of them at his beck and call.

He'd told Sakura plenty of times that it was a waste of their talents. He didn't need such highly trained medical nin to fluff his pillow while there were other ninja with long futures ahead of them to be looked after. Yet Sakura insisted that she and her apprentices attend to him and in the end he finally relented. Hinata later voiced the opinion that it was more for Sakura's comfort than it was for his own.

Naruto was touched by her concern. After all these years, there was still a part of him that imagined what it would have been like to marry Sakura. He looked upon that possible life with curiosity, not longing. He'd like to think that they would have been a decent match, but there was nothing to be gained by fantasizing about it. Things worked out the way they did and he was happy with that. Hinata made him comfortable in a way that no one else ever had.

Even now she sat by his side lightly stroking his hand.

"Hinata," he said, his voice low yet deliberate. He had to speak slowly to prevent a coughing fit.

"What is it?" asked Hinata. She stared at him with her white unblinking eyes. He loved how in any situation, he always had her attention.

"I have something I need to tell you…"

Hinata was silent.

"I should have told you a long time ago but-"

"Don't," she said quietly. Her expression was serious and pleading.

"A jounin does not give orders to the Hokage," said Naruto feigning seriousness before favoring her with a smile. Hinata did not return it.

"You don't have to say it," she said. "I've always known."

"Of course." Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. "Your whole family must have known. I'm sure Sakura does as well. Maybe even the children."

"Jiraya asked me about it once…"

"What did you tell him?"

Hinata smiled. "That you are his father. He was content with that."

"I was a lucky man," said Naruto. He meant it completely.

"You still are. We all love you."

"And I love you too. I lived a long life and I have little regrets."

For a while they were silent. Naruto cast his gaze out the window. The sun was shining brightly.

"I think I'm the last one," said Naruto. Hinata gave his hand a squeeze.

"How many of you were there?"

"Exactly one hundred. One hundred and one if you count the original."

"Are they all dead now?" asked Hinata. She spoke so softly it was hard for him to hear her.

"I think so but I lost count. I never cared much for the others until I got older. The last time one died was years ago. I think it's only me and the real one now."

Hinata frowned.

"You're all real," she said with such determination that it caused Naruto's eyebrows to rise. But after a moment or two his mouth returned to a smile.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's fine," Hinata mumbled. She continued to hold his hand, but made a point of looking away from him. Years of experience told him she was angry. Those same experiences told him that she would never say it aloud. He decided to change the direction of the conversation.

"When I think about their lives it makes me feel so proud. The things that they accomplished, the people that they met, it's all so great and wonderful. And though I don't approve of everything they've done, I feel like they all lived lives that mattered. I look back on their memories like an old photo album and it makes me smile. When I die, I hope he looks back at my life and feels the same way."

Hinata squeezed his hand again and smiled.

"I can't hear the fox anymore." Hinata stiffened beside him. "It won't be long now, no matter what Sakura says."

Tears began to well in Hinata's eyes. "Please don't say anymore."

"Will you look after Sakura? She's taking it hard, but I know she'll be okay if you're there for her."

"Of course I will."

"And I don't have to ask you about the kids."

"You know they'll be fine. They're tough… like their father."

Naruto chuckled. "And their mother too."

They looked at each other intently. This could be the last time they shared a moment such as this.

"I do have one request though," said Naruto in a gravely serious voice.

"Anything."

"Don't let them bury me with that big old silly hat." The old couple shared their last laugh.

Of course, Naruto wouldn't be buried with his hat. He wouldn't be buried at all. When the life readings on the hospital monitor went flat there was nothing left of Naruto besides a resounding 'poof' and a cloud of smoke.

The original Naruto would look back on this fondly. It was one of the better lives he'd lived.

* * *

Naruto had an idea.

Usually such a thing was met with hesitance and fear, but in this situation all parties involved agreed. Given the circumstances, it was clearly the best option. He was a hunted man and no amount of hiding would change that. Wherever he went and however he lived, word of his existence would reach the ears of his enemies. Akatsuki would eventually find him and with his current level of power even their weakest member would certainly kill him. And so he devised a plan.

100 clones, each one an identical copy, set out into the world at large traveling toward every corner of the globe. Each clone left with 5 kunai in their weapon pouches, 2 dollars in their wallet, and enough chakra to create 20 more clones if the need should arise. Their missions varied widely, but they all shared one unified goal: survival by any means necessary.

These are their stories.

**AN: **As you might have guessed this story would ideally be a series of 101 one-shot stories based on the lives of the clones. But I doubt I'll create anywhere near that many chapters. (You'll be lucky to get 5). However, I do have the first full chapter written and will be editing and posting it soon. I also have plans to allow other people to join in on this project and create a chapter or two of the story if they'd like (details will be provided in later chapters). So if you've got any good ideas concerning this premise, write'em up and let me know about it. Even if you don't want to post them here, I'd still like to read it. Expect part 1 of 3 of the first chapter within a weeks time or less.

Hope you enjoyed this.


	2. Murder part1

One Hundred and One Lifetimes

By Fresh C

**Chapter 1: Murder – Part 1**

Two and a half years after the Narutos left their home of Konoha, a message was received from the Perverted Sage Jiraiya. Using the benefits of the shadow clone jutsu, messages were passed between the Narutos by creating a clone and having it dispel. The full knowledge contained by that clone instantly entered all the other Narutos' minds in a fashion that would be jarring to anyone not accustomed to switching focus quickly and at random. Luckily, Naruto possessed this skill in spades.

A flood of new memories filled each Naruto's mind, most of which were redundant. Out of sixteen years' worth of memories only one full week was new information. Thousands of seconds, each with enough information to completely fill a computer's hard drive, flowed through the chakra coils of the brains of one hundred and one Narutos. Of those thousands of seconds only thirty were important. Of the Narutos who gained this knowledge only one found it useful.

A simple scene. Jiraiya with his hand on the shoulder of the clone, his eyes shining with pride and his tone a note of quiet determination. He spoke two words, "You're ready." At these words the clone smiled brightly and dispelled.

Eighty-five miles away in the center of a forest in the land of Fire, one Naruto threw a kunai at a tree and nodded to himself once. He would make his move at nightfall. There was no turning back.

For two years he'd lived in relative solitude, his only company being the occasional summoned toad. He quickly learned that the toads with interesting things to say, did not enjoy being summoned for a fireside chat and the lower rung summons who didn't mind had nothing interesting to say. Naruto liked Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, he really did, but he was on an extended stealth mission. There wasn't enough snacks in the world to keep them quiet. And so he spent his time planning out his mission objectives and training in the forest alone.

He was after a scroll. The tower where the scroll was hidden was marked on no map. Only a handful of living individuals knew its exact location. According to Jiraiya, the power of the technique hidden on the scroll was of such great magnitude that the daimyo ordered that it be guarded night and day by a regiment of samurai. The samurai ceaselessly patrolled the small clearing where the tower was located. Upon spotting any living being, be it animal or man, they had orders to kill. Konoha genin were no exception to the rule.

This experience had been a crash course in intelligence gathering. Naruto slept in trees during the day, exposed to the whims of the elements. He'd been spotted only twice in the two years he'd called the forest his home. On the second occasion he'd been forced to abandon his sleeping gear. At first he'd cursed himself for the loss of equipment and more importantly the element of surprise. But as weeks passed the samurai slackened their guard once more. Their patrol radius diminished from 100 meters to the normal 30 meters and the number of active guards decreased as well. It was as if he'd never been there to begin with.

His training in the academy had taught Naruto how to disappear. His life in the un-named forest taught him to not exist. Having lost all his gear, he learned to live in a manner that would leave no trace. During sunlight hours, he slept in the high branches of trees away from prying eyes. He ate only what he could find or kill, mostly mushrooms and rabbits (which incidentally went quite well together). He cooked his food as far from the tower as possible, using a light wind jutsu to disperse the smoke that threatened to give away his position. By the time he received the message from Jiraiya, he'd lived two years in the forest without being seen by another living human being.

The absence of others was something that Naruto could not easily ignore. He was no stranger to being isolated and alone, but that didn't mean he wasn't affected by it. The bonds that he'd formed with the precious people in his life had spoiled him to an extent. He never appreciated little joys like sharing a bowl of ramen or just talking with a friend as much as when he realized he'd have to do without them.

He missed Sakura awfully. Sometimes he'd lose sleep thinking about where she was and what she was doing without him. Her absence from his life made his longing for her all the stronger. And that longing only served to weaken his resolve. If it weren't for the promise he'd made to bring back Sasuke, he'd have given up his quest and dispelled himself a long time ago. The road to capturing Sasuke was going to be a long one and it all started with learning the abilities listed on the scroll.

But it wasn't only thoughts of Sasuke and Sakura that filled Naruto's mind. As messages came to him from the other Narutos, he learned just how much he was missing out on. They were meeting new people, forming bonds, gaining new information, and perfecting techniques. Some of them had fought and won battles, gaining the respect of those around them, deepening the bonds they shared. And what had Naruto accomplished? He created a jutsu to disperse smoke. He was so ashamed of his progress, that he stopped sending monthly messages to the others. The only thing he could tell them was that he was still alive, and they already knew that. They would instantly know if he were dispelled.

Naruto poured all his frustrations into planning. At night he created twenty clones to watch the tower and observe the Samurai. He learned all their guard patterns which changed daily, only to reset at the end of each month. He assigned each Samurai a name and skill ranking, gauging their skill by their hunting ability. Individually none of them were a significant threat, but if his presence was detected in the tower it would take a few moments for them to surround and overwhelm him. Over the years his chakra coils had expanded enough to allow him to make 37 clones. It would be suicide to attack head-on with anything less than 200 of them.

Sneaking in also presented its fair share of woes. There was only one entrance on the ground level which was the second most heavily guarded area of the tower. The tower was 5 stories high and the only windows were located on the third floor which the samurais used as their sleeping quarters. The whole floor consisted of one large room. Given their staggered guard pattern, there were usually 7 or 8 samurai sleeping within that room at all hours of the day. To make matters worse, there was a guard posted at the stairwell 24/7. Naruto thought it only safe to assume that there was a guard stationed at the stairwell of every single floor, but he had no way of knowing for sure.

A direct attack was impossible and stealth entrance was improbable, so Naruto decided he'd do what he always did best: distraction. His plan held all the subtlety of frantically waving one arm in front of your opponent's face and punching them with the other. Yet it would work. Otherwise, another Naruto would have to take his place and try again. The whole of his accomplishments would be slightly increased chakra control and a light wind jutsu. But that was unacceptable. The plan would succeed. Believe it.

* * *

At midnight Naruto made his move. The trees were too far from the tower to jump directly into the third floor window and any equipment he could have used to scale the building was lost when he abandoned his discovered camping site. The only option he had left for himself was to climb up the old fashioned way.

For the first time in over a year, Naruto created a shadow clone. Without hesitation the clone rushed at the nearest samurai on the western side of the tower yelling as loudly as possible. The samurai spotted him well before he was close enough to engage in combat and quickly called for help, while simultaneously drawing his sword. The clone threw 3 kunai at the samurai, all of which were deflected by the samurai's blade. He was quick, but the clone was faster. Naruto had spent the whole of 2 years working on nothing but taijutsu and chakra control. The samurai took one single offensive slash, but his blade only met air. The clone dodged quickly to the right and hit the man in the shoulder with a one handed Rasengan (a trick one of the other Narutos had finally mastered). The samurai went flying into the wall of the tower. His reinforcements came streaming out of the entrance of the building in waves positioning themselves on either side of the intruder. Finding himself completely surrounded, the clone had nowhere to go but up.

The clone rushed the tower with all the speed he could muster. Using his new found control, he ran up the length of the tower as quickly as possible. Because of the steep overhanging that existed at each floor (probably to prevent this exact method of attack) he was forced to push off the wall and grab onto the edge of the eave. Using his momentum he was able to swing his body on top of the eave and quickly began to run up the outside wall again. He repeated this maneuver when he reached the third floor. Once there, he wasted no time bursting through the western window and greeting the samurai waiting there.

"Hey guys, what's for dinner?" the clone attempted to ask but failed for a variety of reasons. He had not spoken at a volume higher than a low murmur for quite some time and his voice came out ragged and incomplete. Also the nearest Samurai, already alert to his presence, had thrust his sword neatly through the clone's heart. An instant before the blade ran him through, the clone's hands formed the familiar signs for the shadow clone jutsu. As the original clone burst into smoke another clone appeared one foot to the right of him.

"Not very friendly are you?" asked the clone hoarsely. He withdrew a kunai from his weapons pouch. "Guess we'll have to play rough."

The clone threw the kunai at the samurai, who easily ducked out of its path. The kunai smashed into the northern window of the tower, breaking the glass on impact. By this time a second samurai appeared on the clone's right side and wasted no time in attempting to slice him in half. The clone dodged by jumping backwards onto the window sill. He then leaped from the window and countered with a low powered Rasengan to the abdominal. The samurai did not have enough time to don his full armor, so the impact of the jutsu was enough to send him flying.

The clone smirked triumphantly as the blade of a sword split him vertically. Another clone appeared amidst the smoke. The surprised samurai did not have time to react as a well-placed Rasengan propelled him into the northern wall.

The clone frowned slightly. The timing had been closer than he intended. Had the samurai been a hair faster he would not have had time to replicate himself. There was no room for error here. If he failed there would be no second chances. The clone put on his game face and assessed the situation.

Five samurai stood ready in the room and reinforcements would be there in moments. The remaining five enemies had him completely surrounded. His clone "dodging" technique would only work so long as there was adequate space for the clone to appear in, so it would be little help from here on out. He mentally went over a list of wide area jutsu he could use to defeat them, but all were potentially lethal. He couldn't justify killing an innocent resident of the land of fire, no matter how vital the mission. To top it all off, the reinforcements from the floors below had just reached the third floor landing. In short, the clone was all but screwed.

"I know when I'm outmatched," said the clone with a sad shake of his head. "But hey, no harm no foul right? Cya later."

With those words the clone promptly formed a Rasengan and thrust his fist straight through the floorboards. The floor around him collapsed and he fell roughly to the second floor. After the fraction of a second that it took him to gain his bearings, he felt like a man trapped in a cage. There were around 15 guards with him on the second floor all standing near the stairwell where they were previously rushing to slice him open. At the sound of the crash he made with his hasty exit, they all turned around to face him, katanas drawn and at the ready, stark determination on their faces. There was no possible way to fight them all in such closed in spacing.

The clone smiled at them sheepishly, threw a smoke bomb to distract them, and Rasengan'd straight through to the first floor of the tower. When he spotted the 12 more samurai and the solid steel lining of the walls he smiled ruefully. This would probably be the end for him. He only hoped he had bought enough time.

The clone charged forward as he formed familiar seals.

* * *

At the sound of the breaking floorboards, Naruto, wearing all black, crept through the now broken northern window of the third floor. Using chakra to mold his hands and feet to the ceiling, he silently crawled across the third floor. He watched the samurai below him preparing to pursue his clone by jumping through the hole he created and watched as the reinforcements coming from the stairs rushed downwards in the direction they had come from. He waited in the center of the room for 30 seconds before he was confident that no one would come rushing down from the fourth floor. When no one came, he cursed under his breath.

The fact that no one came proved his suspicions completely. There were more guards waiting for him on the fourth floor... either that or something worse. Just as he feared, the samurai were too smart to send their full forces at him all at once. They left their strongest defenses in the top two floors. Naruto quickly crawled across the ceiling to meet them. No point in waiting.

When he reached the fourth floor landing he was immediately spotted by a monstrosity of a man. At a height of at least 8 feet and wielding a large hammer with a reach of the same length, Naruto assumed that this man was not a samurai. The Konoha headband wrapped around his bulging bicep proved it. The man used his impressive bulk to block the only stairwell that lead to the fifth floor. He made no attempt to call for help, but only smiled at Naruto predatorily and raised his hammer into an attack position.

"... not what I expected," Naruto grumbled. He dropped from the ceiling and his hands formed several seals. "Wind Release: Dispersion Jutsu."

The man stopped smiling instantly as his lungs attempted to draw in air that simply was not there. He put his hand to his throat once in surprise and stared at Naruto with a look of pure hatred. A second later he charged, oxygen supply be damned. He moved with a quickness that could have only been acquired by years of training. Down came the hammer and Naruto jumped aside just in time while frantically forming seals. The blunt instrument created a large gaping hole in the floor, but nothing else. No sound was emitted from the impact as Naruto had quickly used his dispersion jutsu to clear the air from that area. Without the air, the sound had no medium through which to travel and thus the samurai below were none the wiser.

In the time it took Naruto to land from his jump, the man was already swinging his hammer again. This time it was a horizontal swing that would have produced a large ringing sound against the steel walls of the tower, had Naruto not cast his dispersion jutsu in the area. The game was afoot and neither side seemed to be at an advantage.

The freak with the hammer had Naruto beat in both power and (miraculously) speed. Given the long reach of his weapon, Naruto did not have the opportunity or time to go on attack. He couldn't get close enough for a Rasengan, and against an opponent so fast, kunai would be all but useless. In order to keep their little encounter hidden and silent, Naruto had to waste precious time he would be using on offensive jutsu, to keeping the air away from the areas where his hammer attacked. It didn't help matters that these were the same areas where Naruto usually had been standing just an instant before.

Luckily for Naruto, this battle had a time limit. As the freak chased Naruto across the barren fourth floor, his swings grew slower and weaker. The lack of oxygen was clearly affecting his abilities. While it had taken all of Naruto's concentration to keep the air from around the man's head and keep the battle silent, he could keep it up all night if he needed to. As the length of the battle drew out to around 2 minutes, Naruto dodged a final feeble swing as the man collapsed to the floor. Naruto cast his dispersion jutsu around the man's knees to cancel the sound of him sinking to the floor.

A loud clanging noise resounded through the room and Naruto cringed badly. He wasn't quick enough to cancel out the sound of the falling hammer. From that point forward he had to assume that everyone in the tower knew of his presence. He would have to move very quickly if he had any hopes of getting out of there alive.

Having no need to keep quiet, Naruto vaulted the behemoth gasping unconsciously on the floor, and climbed the final flight of stairs to the fifth floor. The room was unguarded. The whole floor was barren and empty save for the torches on the wall and large stone chest in the center of the room. The chest was smooth and unmarked save for a single leaf symbol at the top and a spherical indentation in the front. There was no lock, handle, or combination. There was only one way to open the door that would not trigger the explosive tags lining the inside of the safe. A molding of chakra into a spherical shape that would perfectly match the indentation of the chest: a Rasengan.

Naruto quickly crafted a Rasengan and thrust it into the crevice as Jiraiya had instructed him. Audible clicking noises emanated from inside the chest before the door swung open on creeping hinges. Naruto peered into the box and spotted his prize: a simple white scroll with the symbol of the village hidden in the leaf surrounded by a couple dozen exploding tags. Naruto snatched the scroll quickly and hid it in the folds of his black robe. He heard footsteps approaching from the stairwell and decided to turn around and grab a handful of the explosive tags as well.

Quickly he formed a Rasengan and drove it through the floorboards... only there were no floorboards. Like the walls around him, the floor of the fifth story was made of reinforced steel. His Rasengan did do some significant damage, but it would take at least 20 more such strikes to completely break through the steel and that was time that Naruto just didn't have. The first samurai's head crested the top of the stairwell and an adrenaline fueled shout filled the room.

Thinking fast, Naruto flung one of the explosive tags toward the stairwell in a high arch. The charging samurai stopped in his tracks and began to retreat. Using this as a distraction, Naruto placed another tag on the ground, right where he had attempted his Rasengan. He ran to the furthest corner of the room and triggered the explosive tags. A deafening blast sounded throughout the room. The stairwell caved in from the blast. A jagged hole formed where the tag on the floor previously resided. Naruto's Rasengan had weakened the steel just enough for the blast to be effective, but the opening was barely large enough for him to fit through. He lowered himself through the crack, wiggling for room when necessary. He cursed when he cut his abdomen on a protruding piece of steel. With some effort he wormed his way through the hole and fell to the fourth floor... and then fell straight through the hole made by the freak with the hammer onto the third floor.

The unexpected tumble rattled Naruto quite a bit. He landed badly on his right leg and he'd have a headache for days, but now was not the time to think about that. Somehow miraculously he'd made it back to where he'd started. The samurai, now both below and above him, were not far behind. Pausing only briefly to attach two explosive tags to kunai, Naruto jumped out of the third floor window onto the overhanging beneath him. He used chakra molding to run down the side of the wall and nearly lost his footing when he noticed the large mass of samurai gathered in the clearing below. Naruto threw the two kunai with the explosive tags into the center of the mob and waited as long as he could to detonate them. Praying that no one died from this, he leapt from the wall of the second story and simultaneously set off the explosive tags. The samurai acted appropriately and most were able to flee the blast radius in time to avoid damage. Naruto landed in the center of where the explosion had been and wasted no time rushing through the ranks of disoriented samurai, knowing that if he wanted to survive he could no longer hold back.

The enemy had him surrounded, but their barrier was thin, maybe four men deep. With the longer reach of their swords and superior numbers they clearly had the tactical advantage. Despite these odds, Naruto was just plain better.

First line: the samurai directly in front of Naruto was a little dazed by the explosion. His sword hung limply in his hands and there was a pained expression on his face. Naruto pushed past this man without a second thought. The samurai just to the left of him however received one swift jab to the face.

Second line: three men all alert and ready. Naruto threw a kunai at one furthest to the left, striking him above the neckline of his armor, just shy of the delicate opening of his throat. The man clutched at the kunai instantly, but Naruto didn't have time to observe the damage. The samurai to his front and right rushed him. Naruto kicked one in the chest and readied a Rasengan for the other, which he drove directly into his side.

Third line: He dodged the strike of several swords, twisting and bending to avoid being slashed. One attack slashed him shallowly along the arm. Another cut through his shirt vertically down the back. All painful, none fatal. Naruto made it through the last line without a single attack. He was much too focused on defending himself. When he made it past the blade of the last samurai he broke out into a sprint.

From there it was a foot race into the forest. Long story short, Naruto was faster.

When he had the chance to catch his breath Naruto couldn't help but grin. He had successfully broken into the tower and made it out alive without killing a single man. But then the smile on his face suddenly disappeared. He quickly canceled his wind dispersion jutsu.

Eight minutes had passed since he left the fourth floor. The freak with the hammer was probably still alive. Maybe...

* * *

Naruto dragged himself forward with a sense of reluctance. He took no joy in jumping through the trees of the forest. The shoots of pain coursing through his right leg at each landing were not the only cause for the grimace on his face. He messed up. He messed up bad.

Naruto could hold his breath for three minutes underwater. At the academy he learned that it took around 6 for brain damage to occur. The man with the hammer was deprived of oxygen for 8 minutes. Even if he had somehow survived, what type of state would he be in? Would he be able to fight anymore? Would he try to move his left arm, only to end up kicking out with his right foot? Or was he simply dead...

Sighing deeply, Naruto shook his head. The man was a ninja. He knew what could happen to him at any given time. While no one goes out on a mission expecting to die, everyone knew the possibility existed. It was knowledge the village instilled in their ninja since birth. Naruto had done nothing to this man that he hadn't been forced to do to other ninja throughout the course of his career. Why was this any different?

_Because he was from Konoha. Because he was a comrade._

As he approached the river clearing, he let these thoughts fade from his mind. The man _was_ a ninja. He _was _from Konoha and he was no mere genin either. By Naruto's admittedly biased opinion, he came from the crop of the best trained ninja in the world. There was no real reason to assume the man dead. He'd seen ninja far worse than that man miraculously come back from seeming demise. No, the man with the hammer had definitely survived. He was too much of a freak not to have.

Putting these thoughts behind him, Naruto reached the riverbank and quickly began to disrobe. He had a heavy lead on the Samurai, but he would rather be safe than sorry. From the beginning he had planned to wash away his sent in the river to throw off any potential trackers. As he stepped in the cold river water he felt his muscles tense before slowly forcing them to relax. He sunk into the water until his body was completely submerged before surfacing again. Pulling a bar of soap from his robes, he washed his wounds out gently with his hands. In slight fascination, he watched as the water turned red. He jumped out of his skin when someone in the trees quietly said, "Boo!"

Naruto was literally caught with his pants down. The nearest kunai was two feet away in a weapons pouch. Depending on the skill of his enemy he could probably make it there before they had a chance to attack. He ran from the water, naked as the day he was born, only to be stopped as his enemy threw a kunai with a tag right where his clothes were laying in the grass. Naturally, Naruto turned around and ran as fast as he could and jumped into the water to shield himself from impending doom. One minute passed without an explosion and Naruto began to feel his chest constrict. 30 more seconds passed and holding his breath became painful. Another minute and he just didn't care anymore. If this idiot was going to blow the tag, he should have done it already. And if he was just waiting for him to surface, then there wasn't anything Naruto could do about that, was there?

Naruto slowly raised his head above the water only to be met by the sound of annoying nasally laughter. He quickly glanced over to the explosive tag, to see that indeed it hadn't exploded and it never would. The word "Boom" was written on it with the same chalky substance ninja used to paint their faces.

"Alright wise guy, who's there?"

Still laughing his head off, a lone figure emerged from the trees wearing a bright orange jumpsuit that was beginning to fit a little too tightly on him. His crop of blonde hair shaking in his mirth. He pointed at Naruto cheerfully, smile firmly held in place and said, "Gotcha!"

Naruto sighed. It was a clone.

After he started living in the forest, Naruto became somewhat wary of clones. Something in their faces he didn't like. A kind of dreading and drudgery that spoke volumes to him. It was clear that no matter what task he asked of them, they didn't really want to be there. They looked on this mission the same why he once looked on tracking down the rich lady's cat in Konoha: A waste of time and talent. He could just picture them thinking, "Why hadn't I been created by a more interesting Naruto?" or "I could be out training with Jiraiya". When they dispelled he found that he was right. He and the clones just didn't get along very well.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked tiredly as he dried himself off with his own clothing. "You should be dispelled." After all, it was a suicide mission. That's why he sent the clone.

The clone stopped laughing and donned a serious expression which highlighted a shallow gash along his cheek. "I made it out," he said plainly. Naruto waited for him to continue, but the clone said no more.

There was an awkward silence as Naruto pulled on his clothes. He wasn't sure what the clone was waiting for. "Well..." he said, "Good joke. You can dispel now."

The clone scratched idly at the back of his head. "Why?" he asked.

Naruto thought on this deeply before replying, "Why not?"

"I guess... I don't know..." the clones glanced at the scroll hanging from a pocket inside Naruto's robes. "I figured I could help out."

Again Naruto stood deep in thought. "I don't know..." he said, rubbing his chin. Acquiring the scroll was his one true accomplishment since entering the forest. He wasn't sure he was ready to share it with someone else.

The clone brilliantly counted this by asking, "Why not?"

Naruto conceded defeat with a shrug. He still needed to learn the technique and two heads were better than one. What harm could it do?

With a wave of his hand, Naruto motioned for the clone to follow him into the trees.

* * *

The forest wasn't safe anymore. In the minds of the samurai Naruto was no longer an unknown danger lurking in the shadows, but an enemy to be hunted and eliminated. They would not give up on tracking him down and killing him. The only safe option would be to run as far away as possible. Yet Naruto chose to stay.

He signaled for the clone to come to a stop in a clearing. Without a word Naruto pulled out the scroll and began to read. He paid no heed to the clone's nervous glances.

"Should we be stopping?" asked the clone.

Naruto said "Yes" and continued to read. This did not leave the clone at ease.

"We'd be much safer outside of the forest."

"No," said Naruto looking up from the scroll in confusion. "They expect us to leave. Who would rob a place and stick around? We're safer here... You should know that."

Naruto wondered if maybe he'd made this clone improperly.

"You bump your head or something?"

"No," said the clone sounding somewhat irritated. "I just... don't like it here I guess."

This was something Naruto could understand. The forest was a consistent drain on his resolve. It reminded him daily of his failure and isolation. It was only natural that the clone would feel the same way. But he'd made a promise to himself, that he would not leave these woods until he'd mastered the technique on the scroll. Naruto kept his promises. Especially to himself.

"Come take a look at this," he said, motioning the clone to his side. They both stared in confusion at the words on the scroll.

_Hiraishin Jutsu - Flying Thunder God Technique _

_S-rank technique_

_Class: Space-time Jutsu_

_Warning: high risk technique. Requires light knowledge of seals, fine chakra control, and heightened spacial awareness. _

_Description: User seals a portion of their chakra within an object or person. Using the natural attraction of like chakras, the user is transported within a one meter range of object which contains the sealed chakra._

The clone frowned heavily and scratched the back of his neck. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have asked you," said Naruto sighing. "What good are you anyways?"

"Hey, I'm thinking as hard as I can, alright!" Both of them noticed that the clone was talking just a little bit too loudly for a person in hiding. Silence descended upon the pair as they tensely listened for any sign of an approaching enemy. As it became apparent that no one was coming, the silence turned contemplative. They both poured over the contents of the scroll in silence.

"It's like..." said the clone startling Naruto out of his reprieve. "It's like you make yourself a magnet..."

"Huh?"

"Like... your chakra and you... you're both magnets and then... you do something with the seal and suddenly you jump together... like Poof!" The clone clapped his hands together in demonstration.

Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I think I get it... maybe. I just don't understand the seals... or the chakra activation thingy... or why that pervey sage thought I would ever get this."

The clone made a pained noise while clutching at his face. "Ahhh... let's just try it already!"

And so the clone pulled out a kunai, took one final fleeting look at the scroll, and flashed several hand seals. He placed his hand on the kunai and grunted in effort. A string of blurry characters appeared on the surface of the kunai. For a moment they seemed to pulsate as they moved about the surface. Then slowly the characters stopped moving altogether and faded away.

"Did it work?" asked Naruto, now eagerly looking over his shoulder. "Where'd those funky symbols go? They weren't supposed to disappear were they? They didn't disappear in the picture on the scroll. Why did they disappear?"

"I don't know," said the clone. "Maybe that means the chakra, like... sank in or something."

Naruto pondered this for a moment and came to a conclusion. "I think you just suck at this."

"Like you can do any better!" said the clone, bitter as lemons.

"It's not like I could do much worse!" came Naruto's rebuttal. Both men knew these were fighting words.

And so the battle of seals began. Naruto pulled out a kunai and placed his hand over it, squinting his eyes in concentration. The clone did likewise. Naruto let out a grunt of triumph as the blurry symbols on his kunai clearly radiated with power, then a squeal of indignation as they disappeared even faster than the clone's attempt.

"Not so easy, huh?"

"Stuff it, clone."

The competition continued. After an hour worth of each of them giving their all to form tiny little symbols on pieces of metal, certain trends were observed. The clone's seal always lasted longer than Naruto's, while Naruto's seal always pulsated brighter. Yet both of them consistently produced clumsy blurred symbols that looked as if they'd been drawn by a child. They found these observations to be not particularly helpful.

"Why's yours so bright like that?" asked the clone for what must have been the 4th time in half an hour. "I'm putting in all the chakra I can and it's nowhere near as bright as yours."

"Yeah, well I'm loading this thing with chakra too, and the seal barely last for five seconds." Naruto once again attempted to make the seal in order to demonstrate this point. When it disappeared just as quickly as ever, he threw the kunai at a tree in frustration. The clone tried to produce a seal several more times before dropping his kunai onto the ground with a scowl so deep he almost looked like he was crying.

"I don't get it," he whined. "We're doing the same thing. We should get the same results."

Naruto had no response to this as he bowed his head, deep in thought. The clone was right of course. It didn't make any sense that they should get different results, because they were identical in every way. If both of them were putting every ounce of chakra that they possibly could into each and every attempt, it would only stand to reason that each seal would have the same appearance and stay the same length of time. So the only logical conclusion was...

"You're a weakling!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly. The clone began to dish out his nearly automatic reply when Naruto interrupted him. "You can't put as much chakra into the kunai because you don't have as much chakra as I do. You see... you're a clone."

"So are you," said the clone defensively.

"Yeah, but you're _my_ clone. And I didn't give you completely half of my chakra because I knew I'd need it for the tower. You've got less chakra than me. That's why yours isn't as bright."

"But then why does mine stay longer?"

The question hung in the air unanswered and the two men continued to sulk quietly. The clone routinely plucked grass from the ground and thew it in the air. Naruto twirled a kunai around his finger, pausing every 10 rotations to stab it viciously into a tree. For a full half an hour they passed their time like this, mulling over the possibilities until a thought occurred to the clone.

"It's not the chakra that's the problem, it's the seal!" the clone exclaimed. "The seal can't handle the amount of chakra we're putting into it because we're making it wrong. We need to focus less on putting chakra into the kunai, and more on forming the actual seal."

Revitalized by these words, the two began to vigorously work on their seal making technique. As the day wore into night, the symbols they made on their kunai became clearer and clearer. And by nightfall their progress had finally advanced to the point where... it still looked like complete and utter crap.

But Naruto and the clone went to bed tired and happy that night. They made progress.

* * *

Resting in the trees of the forest, Naruto and clone felt relatively safe. Samurai never traveled through the trees. While they were more likely to look upward searching for the fugitive ninja, it was unlikely that they'd actually climb and search through the heavy foliage which they used for cover. Yet despite this relative safety neither of them were able to quickly fall asleep. Naruto was aware of the possibility that he could be tracked by another ninja, like the freak with a hammer. In truth, a part of him was hoping to catch a glimpse of his bulging muscles advancing on their camp as his head towered over the tree tops. The idea of being found so soon wasn't inviting, but at least it would mean he was alive. The clone knew nothing of these worries, but for whatever reason he stayed awake just the same.

The night cast it's heavy shadows over the pair as they found what little comfort they could lying on branches. There was a silence that permeated the air, independent of the rustlings of nocturnal animals and stirring winds. It was a kind of certainty, that despite being completely surrounded by life on all sides, there was nothing in the forest to identify with. A constant stream of obstacles and enemies to be avoided and overthrown. At times like these, it felt as if the trees themselves would eat you alive if they could. This place was a den of forced survival, never a home. It reminded Naruto how much he missed Konoha.

Out of this desperate silence, Naruto heard the restrained whisperings of the clone.

"We've got a good start, don't we?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, "It's not much yet, but if we keep at it I think we'll have the sealing part mastered."

"Just a matter of time," said the clone.

For a moment both were silent. Naruto opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. In the darkness of the night, the clone never noticed it. After some contemplation, Naruto decided to say what he wanted to. It's not like he had to keep secrets from himself.

"I was afraid we couldn't do it," he shook his head slowly. "I thought everything I'd done was going to be for nothing."

"What would you have done?" asked the clone.

That question was one that Naruto never bothered to ponder. He was created specifically for the task of learning the Hiriashin. Aside from that, he had no real purpose. He could never actually go back to Konoha without arising suspicion. Maybe when the Naruto traveling with Jiraiya returned he could do so as well and in a sense, hide in plain sight. Let everyone know that he was a clone. But that would do him no good. Everyone would only care about Jiraya's Naruto. He was always the focus. He was the decoy. As long as he was around Naruto could never truly return to his life in Konoha. This mission, as much as he hated it, was all that he had. And if he failed it...

"I'd dispel," said Naruto.

"Tch," the clone licked his tongue and quietly said, "coward."

Naruto shut his eyes tightly at the reproach.

"You'd dispel. What a wimpy way to go out." The clones words were dripping with self-righteous disappointment. "'I can't do it, so I'll quit.' I'd expect that kind of talk from a weakling or a slacker... but not from you."

"Then what would you do?" asked Naruto. There was a note of honest curiosity in his tone.

"We'll never find out. I won't quit. If I can't do it in this lifetime, I'll just die trying. And even then they'll have to bury me with this scroll, because I'll work on it from the grave."

His animated speech reached a lull. The clone's next words seemed tired and weary.

"This isn't just about some stupid technique. People are depending on us. _Lives _are depending on us. If we don't give it all we have, if we can't risk everything, then what is it all worth? I'm not going to just give up when it gets hard. No. Never. We can't let everyone down. We owe them too much."

The night once again lapsed into silence. Naruto had time to reflect upon the oddity of being lectured by himself. But... his words rang true. The clone had touched on points that in his heart, Naruto could never deny. He had to wonder when he'd learned to be so weak and how the clone could still be strong. He stared at the clone's orange jacket through the branches of the trees above him, taking note of how the material stood out against everything else, even in the dead of night. He'd discarded the clothing early in the mission for that very reason.

It was hard to believe he'd once worn something so bright and vibrant.

* * *

**AN: **Alright, there's the first part for you. I decided to split this into two chapters instead of three. This one is a lot longer than the second one, but I think it helps reader comprehension this way. If you're looking to give me some criticism, I'd like some input on the pacing of the action scene in this (and actually the pacing in general). I'm not really sure how I feel about it.

As always, thanks for reading. Expect part 2 soon.


	3. Murder part2

One Hundred and One Lifetimes

By Fresh C

**Chapter 1: Murder – Part 2**

Naruto spent three weeks training with chakra seals. It was a long and monotonous process. Each time he made a seal it felt a little bit stronger. The chakra stayed in the kunai for just a little bit longer. So he pressed on diligently, waiting for the day when the chakra would not fade at all.

This was all par for the course. Naruto was used to training, sometimes with seemingly insignificant results. However, he wasn't used to being shown up so thoroughly by someone else.

The clone was simply better. There was no other explanation for it. Naruto worked just as hard as he did and the two of them openly shared any insights they might find. So he couldn't understand for the life of him, why progress came so easily for one of them and not the other. As the three weeks progressed Naruto watched the gap between them grow and grow. The momentary difference in the time it took chakra to dissipate from their respective kunai, increased over time until those fractions of a second grew into minutes.

At the end of the three weeks, Naruto could create a seal strong enough to hold his chakra for ten minutes. By that time, the clone's seal had been holding his chakra for twenty hours straight, with no visible sign that it would ever break. The clone practiced this technique until he could successfully seal chakra into three separate kunai without leakage. At this point there was no denying it. He was ready to move on.

Naruto did his best to pretend like he was ignoring the clone as he moved on to the next stage of the training. He continued his attempts to seal his chakra, but his heart wasn't in it anymore. He watched the clone throw one Kunai into a tree and grab another into his hand. Meanwhile his clumsy attempts at chakra sealing were even less effective than before. Whereas recently he'd been able to hold the chakra for several minutes at a time, now it seemed to bleed from the kunai in moments. Naruto barely noticed this. He looked at the clone and thought, "_It should be me_."

The scroll used big words to describe the next step in training. The clone didn't quite understand them. Something about "transmutative seal activation" and "non-time variant matter translation". However there was a picture which showed in detail the process of activating the seal and the end result of that process as well. It was a simple seal release technique that was similar to the one used to set off explosive tags from a distance. All the clone had to do was release the seal from two kunai, and then one would be instantly transported to the location of the other. Like magnets.

The clone could feel his chakra flowing within the kunai in his hands as well as the ones in the trees. It was as if little pieces of himself were chipped away and stored outside his body. They called out to him in tiny whispers saying "we are one and the same". But there was more to it than that… almost as if the chakra was seeking him out. It wanted to reunite. The clone would oblige.

Simultaneously, the clone released the seals from the kunai in his hand and the one on the kunai stuck inside the tree. Naruto gave up all pretense of pretending to practice and watched in rapt anticipation. He saw the clone take a quick breath and quietly whisper, "_release!"_ Then he saw the sky. He could barely hear over the ringing in his ears, but he did catch the sound of the clone screaming and cursing.

He regained his bearings relatively quick. When Naruto looked up he saw the clone hastily removing his jacket. His sleeve was on fire and he was waving his arm around like a lunatic.

"What the hell?"

The clone didn't answer. He continued to flail around until he shook himself free of the jacket. A steady stream of blood ran down his forearm in thin branching lines. Seeing this made Naruto snap out of his confusion. He rushed to the clone's side and began to examine the wound. The clone held one of his hands tightly pressed to his ear as he winced in pain and held out his arm for Naruto to examine.

A small piece of sharp metal was lodged in the clone's arm at the source of the blood flow. Naruto removed the piece quickly, hoping that it hadn't splintered inside of the wound. He ignored the clone's barely restrained yell and poured water on his arm to clean the area. He retrieved some ointment from a pouch inside his robes and applied it to the wound. Again, the clone winched visibly but with much less noise. Taking a kunai from a weapon pouch, Naruto used it to cut up the clone's jacket. He tied the cloth tightly around his arm at the point of the wound.

His task completed, Naruto looked up at the clone and said firmly, "We have to go." The samurai from the tower may have heard the commotion, so the two of them couldn't afford to stay there. Together they packed up their gear as quickly as possible. They traveled so lightly that this only took minutes to accomplish, even with the clone's wound. With all their possessions strapped to their backs, they fled silently into the trees without leaving behind a trace.

* * *

When they'd put many miles of distance between themselves and their camp, Naruto finally felt it was safe to take a break. He instantly demanded an explanation from the clone.

The answer he received was far from perfect, as the clone had seen just as little of the accident as Naruto had. He released the seal, heard and was blinded by an explosion, and felt his arm catch fire. This all seemed to happen instantaneously.

But even as he saw the explosion and felt the resulting pain there was another sensation taking prominence in his mind. He could feel the chakra from both kunai rushing toward each other at such velocity that it defied the word "speed". The two kunai crashed together and overlapped. The molecules from one freely intertwined with each other, filling in the microscopic gaps between mater and forming a dangerously unstable compound, held together by nothing more than the attraction between his chakra. When the chakra from the two kunai combined together as one, there was no force left to hold the molecularly intertwined kunai together. The unnaturally close particles naturally repelled each other resulting in an explosion.

The clone, of course, understood it in slightly simpler terms.

"The kunai smashed together and exploded right in my face…"

Naruto saw the strange mixture of fear and wonderment in the clone's expression. Realizing that he'd been so close to death without even knowing it. It moved something in Naruto. He couldn't help but feel… relieved.

"I think it has something to do with the way you manipulate the seal," said the clone. "You can't just get rid of it completely… you have to… I don't know… disrupt it or something. I let them get too close… but I think I can fix it."

Naruto stared at the clone as if he'd lost his mind.

"You're going to try that again?"

It was the clone's turn to look incredulous. His piercing stare almost made Naruto feel bad. But then the clone dropped his stare and looked off blankly into the distance.

"We have to," he said.

Naruto thought, _better you than me._

_

* * *

_

They decided it would be best to let the clone rest for a few days. There was no reason to try the jutsu again so soon since they had no set deadline when they were expected to finish. Though the clone's injury wouldn't have directly affected the training, why press their luck? So they waited.

The clone spent this downtime considering how he was going to perform the jutsu. Being so inexperienced with seals, he wasn't exactly sure how to do a partial seal release. He spent many hours examining the instructions on the scroll, wondering why nothing was clearly explained.

Naruto spent his time practicing sealing his chakra, but his heart wasn't really in it. He still wasn't as good as the clone, but he no longer cared about it. His philosophy on the matter had changed. There was no reason to push himself too hard and risk his neck when the clone was already on his way to mastering the technique. And if anything were to happen to the clone that caused him to dispel, Naruto would have his knowledge instantly. He could even make another clone to continue the training if he liked. It was better that they handled the dangerous aspects of jutsu. He would let the clone finish learning the jutsu because he was better at it and that's what clones are for.

When the clone finally felt confident enough to attempt the justu again, the two of them prepared for another trial run. The setup for the test was similar to the last one. Only this time the clone wasn't stupid enough to hold one of the kunai in his hands. He placed two kunai in trees facing each other. He and Naruto stood a good distance away behind the cover of a large rock. They'd already packed up the camp, just in case they needed to make another speedy get away.

The clone took a nervous gulp and gave a nod to Naruto. This would be his first attempt at a partial seal release.

"_Release!_" he said quietly.

The two of them huddled behind the rock, anxiously waiting for something to happen. When they didn't hear anything for a couple of minutes they decided to go investigate the results of the jutsu. The results were lame to look at, but conceptually amazing. The two kunai both laid on the ground, two feet away from each other. There was no explosion, there was no noise, just an instant transition of matter from one place to another.

"It teleported!" yelled the clone.

"Alright!" said Naruto. "You did it!"

The two of them shared a high five and a smile. The air of anxiousness seemed to drain from them instantly. For the first time since the explosion it felt as if their mission could actually be successful. The fear, loneliness, and sacrifice would all mean something. The clone pressed on with vindication in mind.

"I can do better," said the clone, confident smile in place.

"Let's see it then!"

This was all the encouragement the clone needed to get back to work. He quickly threw the two kunai back into the two trees and leapt behind the cover of the large rock. This time he didn't even have to say release (speaking the name of a technique as it's performed is more of a training tool for genin as well as a way to spread the fame of your skills among enemy ninja. It is not a requirement for successful completion of a technique and has no real tactical benefits outside of the psychological). The clone didn't wait a fraction of a second to check on the outcome of the jutsu. He sprung out of cover and ran over to the two kunai, now resting less than a foot apart from each other.

"Yeah!" said the clone, pumping his fist. Naruto ran over to great him, easily swept up in this wave of enthusiasm.

"Alright!" said Naruto. "Can you get it closer?"

The clone could. The distance decreased to six inches, then to four, then three, before the clone caused another explosion trying to get even closer. Having already packed up their camp it was easy to flee in wake of the explosion and find another place to settle. But neither Naruto nor the clone cared about the mishap.

Hiraishin was finally in their grasp.

* * *

That night was Naruto's happiest time living in the woods. The clone excitedly filled him in on the details of the jutsu. By slightly altering how much the seal was disrupted he could control the distance teleported. If he disrupted different portions of the seal he could control the relative landing position of the kunai. Even after blowing up their camp for the second time in a week, the clone was eager to tinker with the mechanics of the jutsu, concentrating on placement rather than distance. With careful tinkering he managed to keep one kunai stationary while transporting the other into various positions surrounding it. By the end of the night he was even able to make the two kunai swap positions, a trick which both Naruto and the clone watched with baited breath.

The clone rambled on and on about the potential usage of the jutsu. Explosive traps made of nothing but small pieces of metal on the ground, long distance messages without the need for a carrier, and maybe… if he threw a kunai into the air and teleported to its position… he could even fly!

Naruto carefully listened to all these crazy ideas, taking mental notes for the future. He'd never thought he'd gain this kind of power so easily. The mere thought of it had his eyes as wide as saucers. There would be no one in the world who could stop him after this, not even Sasuke. He could put a seal on Sasuke and have him in a cell in Konoha before he even blinked.

The fact that the clone could learn something so powerful, without any loss (minus a minor wound on his forearm) was astounding to Naruto. He'd been down on himself for so long, that for a while he really did believe his mission was impossible. But now… there were endless possibilities open to him. He'd be a fool to dispel when this mission was over. Not when there was so much to learn and do. He could finally leave the forest, go out there and find an even more powerful jutsu. Maybe find a sensei to take him under his wing, like Jiraya did with the other Naruto. He could wander around, see the world, meet new people. The opportunities were endless. He was amazed that he hadn't seen that before. And he had the clone to thank for that.

Naruto had never been prouder of himself.

* * *

After five or six attempts, the clone was able to successfully produce a seal on his own body. At first he tried to integrate into the nine-tailed fox's seal, but failed miserably. The area was secured by forces he did not truthfully understand, and any attempt to tamper with it all ended in failure. He finally decided to set the seal on the inner part of his right thigh, as it was an area that was easily accessible to himself and concealed by his clothing. No one would find the seal without seriously looking for it.

The clone threw one of his sealed kunai into a tree and prepared for his very first Hiraishin teleportation. He decided that he would take it easy for the first time, only allowing himself to teleport within two feet of the kunai. After all the practicing he'd done before, he was certain he could handle that much without trouble.

"Are you ready?" asked Naruto. He was standing about 3 feet away from the clone. Both of them were twenty yards away from the tree with the kunai. There were other trees between the clone and the target, but they'd learned from experimentation that Hiraishin did not require a direct line of sight.

"Yeah!" said the clone. His hand was unsteady. In fact, his whole body seemed to be shaking. But his smile was so bright and steady that it was clear he was brimming with excitement. Naruto couldn't help but smile as well.

"Good luck!" he said.

The clone nodded once, then wordlessly disrupted the seals.

When a clone is dispelled, whether forcefully or by choice, all the information it holds is instantly distributed to the originator of the shadow clone as well as any shadow clones still left in existence. This information is not received in any order, nor is it categorized in any specific manner. It's simply a transportation of information from one host to another, much the same way that Hiraishin is a means to teleport matter. Knowledge that was not there before, suddenly is.

In this manner, Naruto came to know that the clone was not some sort of "clone prodigy" that somehow understood seals infinitely better than he himself did. The clone stayed up long nights studying the scroll by moonlight, searching for answers to all the problems he didn't understand. He stayed up well past when Naruto himself had gone asleep, practicing as much as was reasonably possible, trying to create a perfect seal in which to store his chakra for the Hiraishin.

As Naruto saw pieces of flesh flying in several directions, he also knew that the clone had seen a similar sight, when the two of them had stormed the tower with the samurai. When the clone was surrounded by enemies he hadn't simply been fighting in hopes of buying Naruto just a little bit more time. He was frightened for his very life. The clone threw kunai at vital points without discretion. His Rasengans tore through armor. In order to escape death he created a Rasengan big enough and powerful enough to rip an enemy's flesh from their bones. He had inflicted death on his enemies that lacked the ambiguity of Naruto's actions. He watched it happen, running, crying, and thinking, "_Better them than me_."

Naruto knew that though a clone may be "killed" by an attack it was possible to delay the effect of being dispelled. It was a trick he'd used many times to fool enemy ninja into thinking he was dead. The clone took full use of that aspect of the jutsu. His bloody mess of limbs, blood, and organs continued to litter the ground around the tree for a full 15 seconds before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. All the while the remains of his consciousness screamed out in agony. Not from the pain, but from the gripping fear of dying. The all-encompassing feeling that he did not want to disappear.

The clone sometimes cried at night. Pitifully, quietly to himself. He smiled a lot during the day because he didn't deserve sympathy. Not from Naruto, not from himself. He'd worked very hard to preserve his life, at the cost of many others. He worked just as hard to atone for that, by mastering the jutsu as quickly as possible. It wasn't that surprising that he refused to believe Hiraishin was impossible for them to learn. It would be like admitting all those samurai died without reason.

Naruto now realized the clone's simple mistake. He had assumed that performing the Hiraishin between two objects with the same amount of chakra stored within them, would be the same as performing it when the chakra levels varied. Since the clone had much more chakra stored within himself than the kunai did, the attraction between the two of them was much greater than the attraction would be between two kunai.

There was a reason no one else had mastered this Jutu. It would take a lot of trial and error to disrupt the seals in exactly the right manner. Error meant death.

"Kage no Bushin," said Naruto, forming the signs with shaking hands.

That's what clones are for.

* * *

Naruto didn't like the new clone very much. Everything about him grated on his nerves. He wore a black robe identical to the one that Naruto wore, which was practical, but annoying as well. With the old clone it was almost like he was talking to a completely different person. But now Naruto simply felt like he was looking in the mirror… only the mirror would never look back.

The clone, for his part, did his best to avoid Naruto. He ate alone, slept alone, and almost never engaged in conversation. The only time the two of them actively interacted was when they hunted for food. They silently competed to see who could catch the most, but since they never shared meals together, it was not a friendly competition.

Perfecting the Hiraishin was not the clone's main priority. It took him a whole week before he was willing to even attempt his first jump. He claimed to be planning out a strategy, but Naruto saw him do no such thing. There simply was no strategy to the Hiraishin, as far as he could tell. You either got it right, or you didn't.

When Naruto finally called out the new clone on his laziness, he threw it right back in his face.

"If it's so damn important, why aren't you doing it?"

"Someone's got to keep training if you fail," said Naruto. He was thinking about the old clone when he said this. Something about his tone caused the new clone to look down in shame.

"Alright," he said. "I'll do it."

The setup was similar to the one they'd been using to practice all along. One chakra sealed kunai in a tree with the clone and Naruto standing almost fifty yards away this time. The clone clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. Naruto, who stood a ways off, saw sweat pouring from his forehead. One moment passed, then another before…

The clone disappeared in front of Naruto's eyes. Naruto quickly scanned the area between the tree with the kunai and the place the clone previously stood. When he spotted the clone three feet away from the tree, he sprinted over. The clone was breathing heavily as if he'd ran for miles.

"Good job," said Naruto. His heart wasn't in it.

The clone took a few calming breaths and said, "I didn't mean to go this far."

"You'll get it next time," said Naruto.

The clone did not look at him. His face was frozen in terror.

* * *

The clone didn't get it the next time, or the time after that, but he continued to attempt the Hiraishin at Naruto's request. Every time he missed his intended destination by great distances. Each time he missed, his eyes shone with the same unrestrained terror as the first time. And when Naruto suggested that he try the jutsu again, the clone looked at him with something akin to hatred.

Naruto missed the old clone. He missed him almost as much as he missed Sasuke and Sakura. He missed the way he smiled when faced with a difficult challenge. He missed the way he always pressed forward, regardless of the risks or difficulties. And even though the clone carried a lot of hidden baggage, he was miles ahead of the new clone, in Naruto's mind.

The new clone dragged his feet doing everything. He was making virtually no improvement. Just looking at him was enough to make Naruto angry. Like his face was asking to be punched. But there was something more to it than that.

Naruto's experience with the old clone taught him something important. There was nothing holding the new clone back from succeeding but his own laziness and fear. If he weren't such a coward, he'd have probably mastered the jutsu already. Instead, Naruto was stuck in the forest, waiting for him to learn the difference between an inch and a yard. The lack of progress wouldn't be so bad if the clone actually took some initiative. But getting him to practice was worse than pulling teeth.

There were no two ways around this. The new clone was holding Naruto back. Naruto had a life to live after this. There was no shortage of new things to learn for the benefit of everyone he knew. And sacrifices were needed for that to happen. Maybe the Haraishin was too dangerous afterall, but that didn't mean there weren't plenty of other jutsu he could learn if given the time. He would master as many skills as possible, then dispel on his own time. Depending on clones was useless.

Well… almost useless. The clone had more practice with Haraishin than Naruto. Even if the jutsu wasn't perfected, it might be useful as a last resort. He decided to reclaim the memories.

* * *

The clone always slept within 20 yards of Naruto's camp in case of an emergency. That night, Naruto carefully watched as he went to make his lodging in the trees. Though stealth was never his specialty, it was child's play for Naruto to circle around the clone's camp and approach from upwind. The clone slept facedown, sprawled out on the large branch. In one smooth motion Naruto yanked his head up by the hair and pressed a kunai to his throat, while simultaneously kneeling on his back.

"Why?" asked the clone. Despite his question he didn't sound surprised in the least. The clone's tears fell onto the hand holding the kunai.

There was a moment of hesitation. Naruto didn't want to respond. It didn't feel right talking to the clone like an enemy. But he forced out the words.

"You didn't try hard enough," he said. "You quit before you even started."

The clone did 3 things very quickly.

"_Release!"_

The clone was standing behind Naruto on the tree branch. He yanked out the chakra sealed kunai stuck in the tree. He pulled Naruto into a submission hold nearly identical to the one used on him only moments ago.

"Enough!" said the clone. His voice cracked as he yelled. "You kill the freak in the hammer to save your own skin. The clone… the clone murdered all those samurai. You let the clone die for you like a coward… and he was your friend! And now you want to kill me! Because I'm scared!"

"No!" said the clone. "This ends now. I'm not... I'm not a hypocrite. I'm not…"

Naruto knew real fear as the kunai pressed harder into his neck.

"But you don't know the jutsu…" said the clone. "You didn't even try to learn it."

"Please…" begged Naruto. He didn't want to die.

The clone said in a quiet and strained voice, "It should have been you."

In an instant the pressure on Naruto's neck disappeared. He didn't need to hear the "_poof_" to know the clone had dispelled. The knowledge was already there in his head along with many other facts.

The clone had hated him with a passion greater than he could have imagined. He knew it was only a matter of time before he learned the Hiraishin or made a life-ending mistake in the process. Either way he would have to die to share the knowledge with all the Narutos. Meanwhile, Naruto sat and dreamed of the future, even daring to berate him for slacking off. The clone lived in constant fear of his life, while Naruto stood on the sidelines.

Naruto thought about this as he held his head in his hands and cried. Crying felt good, but after a while he had to stop. He leapt down onto the ground and wiped the tears from his eyes.

The first clone was a murderer, the second clone a coward, and he was both. None of them called themselves clones. In their minds, they were Naruto. They each had sins to atone for.

"Kage No Bushin."

Naruto created a shadow clone. They stared at each other unflinchingly.

Naruto sealed his chakra into a kunai and threw it at the tree. He had not learned Haraishin perfectly. The second clone's recent success was a lucky fluke… the kind that Naruto used to bet his very life on. But the jutsu needed to be perfected. He couldn't just stop. Not for his own sake. He would rather die trying than living selfishly.

_I owe them all too much._

He said, "If I fail, take my place."

The clone nodded his understanding.

Naruto smiled brightly and disappeared.

* * *

**AN: **Okay, some reviewers addressed a good question regarding the vulnerability of the clones. In the series, they dispel when struck with a hard punch, whereas in this story they fall through floors of buildings and survive.

Here's my theory on clones which is not supported by the manga or the show, but is good enough for this story.

A clone is a being made of pure chakra which solidifies itself to create the appearance of real flesh and bones. The more chakra used to create a clone, the more resilient the clone will be. Overtime as a clone grows and trains, the amount of chakra the clone has available increases (just like a normal ninja). As the amount of chakra available to a clone increases, so does the strength of the clone's body (meaning it's able to handle more punishment). In time it is possible for a clone to become as strong as a normal ninja, but this rarely happens as most clones are dispelled shortly after being created and maintaining a clone is a constant drain on the original ninja's chakra.

However, Naruto is a special case, as he already has more chakra than he knows what to do with. So he is able to maintain multiple clones for a long time without dying of chakra exhaustion. And since these clones are granted such long life, they can develop to the point of being near the strength of the average ninja, and even well beyond that (as evidenced by the prologue where we see a clone has become the Hokage).

On a related note, the "Clone Dodging" technique, does not negate the progress that a clone has made, as he makes an exact copy of himself with almost all of his chakra, leaving the original clone who performed the technique incredibly vulnerable… if that makes any sense.

So… yeah… the clones have the potential for awesomeness.

Thanks for reading. Don't be afraid to review if you'd like.


	4. Projection

**AN: **This chapter is closely related to chapter one. If you don't remember what happens there, then you could probably get by with a quick skim before reading this one. If you're too lazy to skim, hopefully the context clues of the story will be enough for you. If you're too lazy to skim and bad at picking up context clues, sucks to be you. Enjoy people.

Projection

Naruto enjoyed walking through the forests of the land of fire. He loved the feeling of grass beneath his feet and the smell of life filling the air and. He rarely encountered other people when he went so far off the beaten path, but he never felt alone. He had grown to enjoy solitude as he advanced in years. Birds chirping in the distance, the sight of the occasional animal scurrying away, trees swaying gently in the breeze: this was all the company he required. He would always hold a great love for people, but only when he was alone with nature did he ever truly find peace. It was with mild annoyance that he recognized his peace would soon be disturbed.

The shinobi following him was exceptionally gifted in stealth. They kept to a distance of about 10 kilometers and always stayed downwind from his position. Such precautions would seem excessive in most situations, but with his prolonged exposure to natural energy he was able to detect their presence regardless. Initially he assumed it was happenstance that the other person had found him. He thought perhaps it was someone simply going in the same direction. But when he varied his course, the presence did as well. However, when he stopped to sleep for the night, his pursuer did not attempt to come any closer. If they were waiting to ambush him they were being extremely patient. Likewise, if their goal was to make contact with him, they were being quite shy about it.

Naruto had briefly considered trying to lose them, but thought better of it in the end. A person persistent enough to track him down in the middle of nowhere would only come back to bother him again. When he came across a clearing in the forest he unpacked his gear, pitched his tent in the center and decided to wait. 10 kilometers away, his pursuer did the same.

Naruto heard his bones crackle against each other as he kneeled down to start a fire. The pain was small but constant. It didn't bother him as much as it did decades ago when his mortality first began to reveal itself. Whereas he used to be troubled by the thought that one day he may no longer exist, he'd learned to put his fears to rest. There was no use worrying about the future when there was still time to live today. So he put his worries behind him and let come what may.

Even so, patience was never Naruto's strongest virtue. After three days of waiting in the clearance for his would be assailant to make a move, he decided he'd waited long enough. Leaving his equipment behind, he headed toward his pursuer's camp at top speed. It occurred to him that that the person following him might be waiting for just an action. In the time he'd given them to prepare, he could be walking right into a viper's den of traps. But he was confident in his abilities, having survived countless battles where the enemy had the initial advantage. As he neared the 'enemy' camp any slight misgivings he might have had soon vanished. The chakra signature of his pursuer was familiar.

Once he was a mile from her camp, he slowed his pace to a brisk walk. He was only slightly winded, but he took the extra time to catch his breath. When he reached the clearing he found her standing there waiting for him with her hands awkwardly clasped in front of her, as was her habit. After all these years, she was nearly as shy as the day he met her. Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"Hey Hinata," he said. His tone was as casual as if he'd just met a friend at the grocery store. "How've you been?"

Hinata did not answer him at first. Despite tracking him for over a month, she seemed surprise to actually see him in person. She stared at him with her byakugan active, taking in every single detail of his features and comparing them to the memory of the man who had died in her arms. She was just as surprised by the similarities as she was by the differences.

"Naruto…" she said tentatively. It was more of a question than a statement.

Naruto let out an old dry cackle. "The one and only," he said.

The irony of the statement was not lost on either of them.

"It's good to see you," he said. "It's not often I run into people out here, much less an old friend."

Hinata's chest clenched slightly at his phrasing.

"Not that you look it," he amended. "Old, I mean. I bet granny Tsunade would have killed to look half as good without her vanity jutsu."

She blushed, as Naruto knew she would, despite the obvious attempt at flattery. Though, it was weak misdirection at best, Hinata finally relaxed enough to cancel her Byakugan.

"Naruto," she said, "what are you doing out here?"

He cocked his head to the side as if mimicking confusing. "Just taking a walk through the forest. You know that. You've been watching me after all."

Hinata resisted the urge to sigh. It had taken her a long time to realize how good he could be at misdirection. She'd never quite learned how to counter him.

"But what are _you_ doing out here Hinata? Shouldn't you be looking after your clan?"

As the Hyuga clan head, there were a number of tasks she would normally be taking care of that would hinder her from leaving the village. Instead she appointed her son Jiraiya as temporary head of clan (much to the clan elder's dismay) and left almost as soon as the funeral ceremonies for the Hokage had ended. She left behind her children, their children, and a wealth of responsibilities to follow hints of rumors of an old traveling hermit with greying blond hair.

"I am here on behalf of the Hyuga clan and all of Konoha."

Naruto's smile fell from his face.

"And what business would Konoha have with an old man like me?"

Hinata played the part of the diplomatic representative well. She looked at him directly and spoke with such assumed dignity that Naruto would have thought her earlier hesitance to be an act, had he not known better.

"The village seeks your aid." She stated simply.

"And what dire crisis has befallen the village that they would enlist my aid? I know I've been gone long, but aren't there other ninja to take care of these kinds of things."

Hinata frowned deeply. "Our Hokage has gone missing."

"Last I heard Konohamoru was doing just fine."

"He is only filling in temporarily until the old Hokage is found." What Hinata did not tell him was that Konohamoru's promotion was all but guaranteed. The only thing holding him from the official title was a vote among the council elders, which could not be held without the official Hyuga clan head.

Naruto stared at her with one raised eyebrow. "But he's doing a good job of things, right?"

"He… he's handling things adequately."

"Then there's no reason to look for the old Hokage, is there?"

With such simple logic, Hinata's façade began to falter. The calm almost detached way in which she approached the issue evaporated. She was shaking slightly and she could no longer meet Naruto's eyes.

"You would abandon us then?"

Naruto shook his head slowly. "If Konoha ever needed me, I would be there."

"We do need you," she insisted. And it was a strange thing to hear Hinata whine like that. She never seemed to ask for much, which made it that much harder for him to turn her down.

"The village is in good hands."

"I need you," she said softly. "Come home."

"Hinata," said Naruto with a sad smile. "You know as well as I do, that I am the last of my brothers. I'm still surprised at how different we all grew up to be, but there's one thing we all held in common. We could never stand people who would lie to themselves to make easier."

Hinata flinched as if she had been struck.

"You don't need me Hinata. I'm not the man you made a life with. I was never the kage of any village… in fact, I'm still a genin. I'm not the father of your children, but I know they were raised to be strong. They don't need some stranger who they've never met barging into their lives. I know that you're strong too, Hinata, because all my friends have always been strong. And I can think of no greater dishonor to the memory of your husband, my brother, than to return to your house and pretend to assume his rightful place."

Hinata stood there for a while, stunned by his words. As she listened to him destroy what little hope she had of ever being with her husband again.

"I'm sorry," she said on the verge of tears. "I missed you so much and…"

"Your husband was a great man," said Naruto. "The world won't be the same without him."

Naruto rolled his neck to the side and winced slightly at the audible pops that accompanied the action.

"But guess what Hinata-chan?" His expression suddenly became almost childish as if screaming out that he knew something she did not. "You're going to do just fine."

Hinata used her forearm to wipe the tears from her eyes. It took more effort than she thought it would, but when she met Naruto's eyes again she managed to smile.

"You're right," she said. A part of her had known that from the start. Still it was good to have it confirmed by another source. As much as she'd miss him, as much as it would always hurt, she would survive.

But in the silence that followed her confidence wavered, if only a little. Their conversation was over and her request had been rightfully denied. She could sense him preparing to leave again and it scared her. It hurt to think that this might be the last time she ever saw him.

"Hey," said Naruto drawing her attention. She flinched in anticipation of whatever parting words he might have. His actual words surprised her. "Want to go have lunch back at my camp?"

They took a leisurely pace back to Naruto's camp. Hinata held back a slight chuckle as he offered her a cup of ramen cooked over the fire. She could not get her husband to stop eating so unhealthily, even on his death bed. An easy silence overtook them as they began to eat. It was almost like old times, but the differences were glaringly obvious. Naruto kept his distance from her. He wasn't so far away as to be impolite, but he kept his distance all the same. His smile came easy whenever their eyes met, but there was a hesitance there. A kind of shyness which seemed alien in the naturally outspoken man. They talked at length about various things like the state of Hinata's family and the village as a whole. Naruto was quite surprised to hear about the number of people who had attended her husband's funeral, especially the ninja and civilians from various villages. There was an awkward moment when he made the comment that he wished he could have been there.

Naruto also had many tales to share of his own life. He'd been places she didn't even know existed and there seemed to be no end to the number of friends and acquaintances that popped in and out of his stories. Hinata was enthralled by each and every word. The alienness of the stories drove home the fact that she had not really known this man. Though she enjoyed listening to him, her husband had long since run out of stories that she was not familiar with.

As the day turned to night, Hinata found herself growing tired. She could see the same fatigue echoed on Naruto's face. Once again she was relieved when he didn't try to leave or send her away. They retired for the night and lay side by side in his small tent. There was only one sleeping bag and Naruto insisted she should use it. Hinata was surprised to hear him lightly snoring minutes after settling in. She stared at his face long into the night, burning his image into her mind. But as the night wore on, sleep claimed her as well. When she woke up in the morning, he was already gone.

For a moment she felt crushed. She had found him again for one brief day. The world had made sense and she had known that she could live again. But now he was gone. As she thought about the time they had spent together she realized that it was probably better this way. Just as when they were kids, he came into her life and had given her the confidence to live. When she was at her lowest, he made her feel as if she could do anything.

Her husband was dead and gone, but the feeling would never leave.

**AN: **Thanks for reading. let me know what you think about it.


	5. Sage Clone Poetry

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Sage Clone Poetry: The World

I am of the world.

The world is of me.

I feel the water flowing over my shoulders. The rush of energy reaching inside, filling me as it permeates my skin. It saturates my muscles and bones, flooding my organs and lungs with its power. And yet I do not drown.

I thought the water was magical. It is and it is not. There is no chakra infused within it. If I drink it, it will quench my thirst. If I bathed in it, I would be no more powerful than any other ninja who had taken a bath. There is no magic in the water. The magic is in its nature.

Water does not seek water. Water seeks where water is not. It flows from its greatness, seeking only to fill. From highs to lows, finding the path of least resistance. It only goes where it is accepted. Only where there is a need. Likewise, does the energy flow.

When I exercise I destroy my muscles. They rip, they tear, and the strength is torn out of them with the effort. When I perform jutsu I expend my chakra. It pours out from me leaving me empty and exhausted. Yet my muscles can only grow if I break them. My chakra can only expand if I use it.

Like water, life seeks nothingness and fills it. Only an empty pot can be filled.

So I empty my body of life. Expand myself to the world outside me. Seeking to give my life, my energy, to fill the voids of energy in the world. I stretch out my existence. I find trees in the forest. Mice and rabbits in fields. The ice on the mountain. Rocks and bits of gravel. Sands of the desert. Animals and people all around me. The oceans and the sea.

I feel them all as I journey. I feel their power, their beauty, and their flaws. And as I feel them I make myself a part of them and them a part of me, all intertwined together in a web of mutuality. My body is empty, but I am full. Full of the world of which I am both a part and a whole.

Yet the void of my body calls out to me. Life seeks nothingness and fills it. I am drawn back into myself slowly: like water poured from a pot. Yet I do not return alone. The world I am entangled with returns with me. My body is full as never before. Full of life. Flowing with energy.

I marvel at the change. To think that once I thought I was alone. I thought that my existence was solitude: an emptiness that could not be filled. The thought seems silly now. For there is nothing of the world which is not part of another.

There is a tug on my consciousness. The knowledge that I am needed. Some lost child of the world, seeks to destroy it. I understand their pain. I understand their hatred, their sadness, and isolation. They believe that by ending the world they will end their suffering. They do not understand that to end the world would be to end themselves as well. I do not hold it against them, any more than I blame a rock for a landslide, or a drop of water for a tsunami. They are not wrong to strike out at the world in their ignorance. Nor is it wrong for me to strike back.

As I give my energy to my other self, the one who will wield it as needed, my mind and my life dissipates one last time. I give everything of myself away. I do so with a smile.

I am of the world.

The world is of me.

**AN: **Something a little different here. If you're looking for the context of the story, I don't think it's giving away too much to say this is basically the life of a clone created solely for the purpose of collecting Natural Energy for sage mode. I'm not sure if it really qualifies as poetry... but the language is less... uh... story like. My high school English teachers weep...


End file.
